AO is a participant
in the Amazon
Services LLC
Associates Program,
an affiliate advertising
program designed to
provide a means for
sites to earn advertising
fees by advertising and
linking toamazon.com.

AmblesideOnline: Mother Goose

Mother
Goose rhymes may seem silly and senseless and we may be tempted to pass
them by in favor of more 'meaningful' books. As Christians we may feel
that our childrens' time would be better spent on more uplifting
thoughts. But the popularity of Mother Goose goes farther than
nonsensical fun, it actually helps children with speech, words and
later appreciation of literary works. It is an entertaining, painless
way to prepare children for a living books education later.

"Children
entering kindergarten would have better speech habits, and first-grade
children would have a greater power with and feeling for words if more
were done with Mother Goose in the homes. Knowing dozens of the verses
expands the imagination, increases the vocabulary, and develops an ear
for the music of words. Enjoying Mother Goose predisposes children to
other books" (May Hill Arbuthnot, of Flora Stone Mather College,
Western Reserve University from her book "Children and Books," 1947)

The
child who loves to hear and repeat the rhymes as he plays and even
moves his body to their rhythm is doing more than having fun, he is
assimilating language. Arbuthnot says, "Such spontaneous recitations
and physical responses train the child to more vigorous speech, even as
his ears are trained to enjoy the various sound combinations that make
Mother Goose such a splendid introduction to English poetry."

Besides
familiar favorites such as Rock-a-bye Baby, The Mulberry Bush, Old King
Cole, One Misty Moisty Morning, Three Little Kittens, The House That
Jack Built and The Old Woman and her Pig, Arbuthnot recommends specific
titles that appeal to children. Babies will enjoy hearing
Hush-a-bye-Baby, Bye Baby Bunting, Pat-a-Cake, How Many Days Has My
Baby to Play and This Little Pig Went to Market.

The
musical quality of many Mother Goose verses make them an excellent
introduction to poetry, especially such musical selections as Hippity
Hop to the Barber Shop, Goosey Goosey Gander, Ride a Cock Horse, The
Grand Old Duke of York, A Diller A Dollar, Tom Tom the Piper's Son, Wee
Willie Winkie, Hark Hark The Dogs Go Bark, Sing a Song of Sixpence,
Higgledy Piggledy My Black Hen, A Farmer Went Trotting Upon His Grey
Mare, A Frog Went a-Wooing, I Had Four Brothers Over the Sea. Also
musical are I Saw a Ship A-Sailing, Bobby Shaftoe, Johnny Shall Have a
New Bonnet, Lavender's Blue Dilly-Dilly, The North Wind Doth Blow, I
Had a Little Nut Tree.

Children
love the rapid action of verses like Jack and Jill, Miss Muffet, Old
Mother Goose When She Wanted to Wander, Hey Diddle Diddle, Polly Put
the Kettle On, The Man in the Moon Comes Down Too Soon.

Some
tell stories, such as The Queen of Hearts, Dapple Gray, Old Mother
Hubbard, Babes in the Woods and The Frog who Went A-Wooing. Arbuthnot
writes "the brevity of these verse stories make them acceptable to
children as young as two years old and prepares the way for longer and
more involved prose stories."

Children
who haven't matured to appreciate more subtle adult humor love Humpty
Dumpty, Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater, and verses about Tom who was beat
goes running down the street, a pig flies up in the air, a man jumps
into the bramble bush to scratch his eyes in.

For
the full Mother Goose experience, use a well illustrated version with
color pictures that go well with the poems. Arbuthnot recommends
illustrations by Blanche Fisher Wright (The Real Mother Goose, which is
online), Mr. Leslie Brooke, Pelagie Doane, Kate Greenaway, Arthur
Rackham, H. Willebeek Le Mair, and Tasha Tudor ("unusual").

National Post article here says that many parents no longer see any value in nursery rhymes, "But academics dispute this view, pointing to the important role listening to nursery rhymes, and in many cases watching the accompanying actions, can have in language acquisition. 'The general public may see reading as a primarily visual process,' said Roger Beard, professor of primary education at the Institute of Education at the University of London. 'But actually the ability to listen and discriminate between sounds in the language is an important predictor of children's later success in learning to read, and of course rhymes can play an important part in that.'"